NHL Trade Rumors: Phoenix Coyotes Should Take Nothing for Granted at Deadline

At the start of the month, it was looking like the Phoenix Coyotes were going to have to make a move or two in order to secure a playoff spot.

A couple weeks later, the Coyotes are sitting pretty in the Western Conference playoff picture thanks to a 7-0-1 run in the month of February. Things are going so well now—that making a deal ahead of the February 27 deadline is no longer a necessity.

It sounds like General Manager Don Maloney knows that as well as anyone. Here's what he told The Arizona Republic over the weekend:

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"One of the things I'm conscious of, we've never done short-term deals that just don't make a lot of sense, and there's so few sellers right now...but right now there's so few sellers, and in order to acquire something I think teams really have to overspend, and we're not going to do that.

"I like the group, I like the mix, I like our chemistry. We'll still work very hard to see, 'Can we make it a little better?' But we're not looking to take anything off our roster. I just think we're in a good place where players know their roles, know what to expect and if we do this and stay healthy, then we're a playoff team."

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In so many words, what Maloney is saying is that the team is prepared to stand pat at the deadline.

He has a point about the team's chemistry. The Coyotes have really come together this month, and it seems their winning ways have given rise to a strong sense of confidence. It helps that Mike Smith has been a brick wall in the net.

But when you're going good, it feels like things will never be bad ever again. When you're going bad, it feels like things will never be good again.

The Coyotes know what this is all about, as they've been on both sides of the fence. Nobody should forget that they won just three games in the month of January, and they weren't particularly hot in December either.

This team is figuring things out now, and better late then never—but it's not a lock that this hot streak is for real. All it takes is one loss or one twist of bad luck, and things could crumble.

Moreover, it's not as if the Coyotes are running away with a playoff spot. There are a couple teams on the cusp of the No. 8 spot—and the Coyotes are only two points ahead of the Calgary Flames in the No. 7 spot. A losing streak or a bad stretch of games could have dire consequences.

It's not like the teams in the hunt for the playoffs are going to stand pat. For example, Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reported on Monday that the Kings are expanding their efforts to land Rick Nash.

If they manage to get him, they could very well take off and shake up the seeding arrangement in the West.

This is not to say that the Coyotes need to go get Nash before the Kings do, nor is it to say they need to trade away half their roster to acquire any one stud in particular.

This is merely to say that the Coyotes can't afford to remain complacent—as it seems they're prepared to do. Maloney says he doesn't want to subtract from his roster, but he must not be afraid to do that—if it means making a significant addition or two.

If Maloney really doesn't want to do that, perhaps he can get mischievous by trying to block the competition from making deals. If he can strengthen his team's position by making sure other teams stay weak, then he should.

The point is that there's no reason for the Coyotes' front office not to be working the phones in the next week. They're going good now, and they must do whatever it takes to make sure things stay that way.